The actual atmosphere did not suggest a riot. House of Representatives,” warned in an email sent to constituents and The Georgetowner on Sunday morning: “You should not come on the march if you do not want to be put in a potentially risky/confrontational situation, as we will be in the same space as the white supremacist rally. At 4 p.m.–TBD, the rally in Lafayette Square is a higher risk space due to proximity with white supremacists, although we do still have a permit for the space.”
Hundreds of white supremacists, outspoken racists, Ku Klux Klan members and neo-Nazis were expected to show up in Lafayette Square as they had in Charlottesville.įranklin Garcia, D.C.’s elected “Shadow Member of the U.S. That’s not how it had been billed by public officials and in the national media for weeks. The rally, labeled “First Amendment Activity” by the National Park Service, was scheduled to take place between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m., but it started early and was over by 5:15.Īs things turned out, the rally could be described as small, energetic and earnest. police and law enforcement officers were in place they had been preparing for months for a potentially violent confrontation between “Unite the Right” - the organizers of last year’s deadly demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia - and protesters against racism and white supremacy. Many were dressed all in black, their faces obscured by scarves and gas masks. 12, thousands of demonstrators of all ages strode purposely to Lafayette Square in front of the White House. It remains to be seen how the White House will react to the rally planned for this Sunday.Under dark, rain-threatening clouds on Sunday, Aug. Her campaign focused on creating a racially equitable town where everyone can thrive.įollowing the “Unite the Right” rally last year, President Donald Trump raised ire for stating that there were “very fine people on both sides” of the protest, rather than condemning the alt-right’s show of racism and violence. The city, for example, elected social justice activist Nikuyah Walker as its first African American female mayor shortly after the 2017 rally. Kessler was widely criticized for posting insults about Heyer on Twitter and was lambasted for later attributing the offensive nature of his tweets to a combination of Ambien and Xanax.īy contrast, some believe that the violence in Charlottesville made many Americans more sympathetic to the message of counter-protesters. Multiple powerful personalities in the movement, such as Richard Spencer, have lost funding from former supporters. Many political reporters have argued that the events in Charlottesville weakened the power of the alt-right.
Kessler, as well as many of last year’s attendees, are still grappling with lawsuits from Charlottesville, leading many to speculate that such legal trouble may be an incentive for them to avoid further trouble.Īnti-racist organizers, on the other hand, have told multiple news outlets that they plan to send thousands of counter-protesters to “Unite the Right 2” under the name “Shut It Down DC.” For the most part, however, their plans are largely unclear, as is the number of alt-right supporters who plan to attend.
Kessler and others plan to march from a metro station near George Washington University to Lafayette Square where they will conduct a two-hour rally. Kessler had originally tried to plan the event in Charlottesville when city officials denied his request, he tried unsuccessfully to sue the municipality. Planning for the event began in May, when Unite the Right organizer and UVA alumnus Jason Kessler filed an application with the National Park Service to convene approximately 400 people in Washington, D.C.’s Lafayette Park - located directly across from the White House - for the stated purpose of holding a “white civil rights rally.” His application was approved in June. Now, a contingent of this same alt-right group plans to hold a “Unite the Right 2” demonstration on the one-year anniversary of the 2017 rally.
One counter-protester, 32-year-old Heather Heyer, was killed after a self-professed Neo-Nazi drove his car into a crowd. The event quickly assumed a threatening tone that evening as attendees marched through the UVA campus while carrying torches and repeating anti-Semitic chants.On the second day of the rally, counter-protesters clashed with members of the alt-right. for the “Unite the Right” rally - an event ostensibly designed to protest the city’s removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. On August 11, 2017, hundreds of members of the alt-right, led by two University of Virginia (UVA) alumni, gathered in Charlottesville, Va.
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